BAS Due Dates for Tax Agents 2026–27

BAS due dates for tax agent clients depend on the reporting cycle, statement type and concession eligibility. Find the matching obligation in the ATO program, then confirm the client’s recorded lodgment and payment deadlines before scheduling the job.

Quarterly BAS Due Dates for 2026–27

Use the quarterly table in the ATO’s BAS agent program. You need access to the client’s activity statement account and the generated statement for the reporting period.

1. Identify the client’s GST reporting cycle and the obligations on the statement. Record the income year and quarter number.
2. Open the official program and select the quarterly lodgment table. Match the reporting period exactly.
3. Check the lodgment method against the branches below. Confirm the statement qualifies before using a concession.
4. Open the client’s generated statement or online record. Copy its lodgment deadline and payment deadline into separate fields in your workflow.
5. Compare those fields with the selected program entry. Resolve any difference with the ATO before relying on a later deadline.

Lodgment route	Eligibility check	Official destination
Online services for agents or Practitioner lodgment service (PLS)	Eligible quarterly statement, with the previous statement lodged electronically	BAS agent program’s quarterly table, followed by the generated client record
First statement or previous statement lodged on paper	An earlier deadline can apply	Client record and the program’s explanation of when concessions apply
Paper lodgment	Quarterly electronic agent concession does not apply	Client’s recorded deadline
Statement excluded from the agent program	Check its obligation and form type	ATO activity statement eligibility rules

Quarter 2 has no additional quarterly agent concession. Use the official quarter-by-quarter table separately for each period. Carrying a concession from quarter 1 into quarter 2 gives the client the wrong deadline.

If a lodgment or payment deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday, the ATO permits the next business day. Apply the ATO’s deadline instructions to the affected obligation.

Fictional example: a quarterly GST client appoints your practice before its next statement generates. You confirm the previous statement was lodged electronically and select the correct quarter. Check eligibility, then record both deadlines shown for that statement. Set an earlier internal collection deadline using the BAS preparation checklist.

Monthly BAS Due Date Lookup

Monthly BAS uses the monthly obligation in the official program. A quarterly extension does not apply to a standard monthly statement.

1. Select the monthly statement for the client’s reporting period.
2. Open the program’s monthly table and its concession conditions.
3. Confirm whether the particular period and client qualify. Record both deadlines from the client’s statement or online record.

The program has a concession for one specified monthly period. Eligibility includes electronic lodgment, monthly GST reporting and annual turnover up to $10 million. Deferred GST businesses are excluded. Use the ATO’s monthly concession conditions to identify that period.

Businesses with GST turnover of $20 million or more must report GST monthly. Businesses below that threshold can choose monthly reporting, under the ATO’s BAS reporting guidance.

Fictional example: a business with GST turnover above the mandatory threshold joins your practice. You select its monthly obligation and confirm the recorded deadlines. Its turnover excludes it from the small-business monthly concession, so a quarterly client’s schedule would give it extra time it does not have.

PAYG Instalments on the BAS or IAS

PAYG instalments prepay the expected income tax on business and investment income. The ATO uses the latest tax return and its entry thresholds to put clients into the system. Instalments are credited against their annual income tax.

The ATO’s PAYG instalment guidance distinguishes individual and trust thresholds from company and super fund thresholds. Business income alone does not settle every entry test.

The client uses the instalment amount calculated by the ATO or, where available, multiplies instalment income by the ATO’s instalment rate. Annual payment is an option for eligible clients who make the required election.

To find when PAYG instalments are due:

1. Identify the recorded payment frequency and whether the document is an activity statement or instalment notice.
2. Open the ATO’s PAYG deadline details. Select quarterly or annual obligations, including any group-specific rules.
3. Confirm the payment deadline and lodgment requirement on the client’s document. An unchanged instalment notice generally requires payment without lodgment. A variation requires lodgment, as does using the rate method on an annual notice.

Varying an instalment too low can produce a tax shortfall, general interest charge and possible penalties. Use the ATO’s variation instructions and retain the estimate supporting the variation.

A client who needs an activity statement for PAYG withholding or instalments, without GST registration, uses an instalment activity statement (IAS). A PAYG-instalment-only client using the amount option can receive an instalment notice instead. Follow the document the ATO issued and confirm its deadline.

Who Qualifies for the Agent’s Extra Time

Agent registration alone does not give every client extra time. Apply the ATO’s statement eligibility conditions to each obligation.

Decision	If it applies	Action
Is your registered agent number attached to the activity statement account?	No	Correct the relationship and confirm the recorded deadline
Does the client have monthly GST or a monthly PAYG instalment obligation?	Yes	Use the monthly rules and their specific concession conditions
Is it a consolidated head entity PAYG statement or instalment notice?	Yes	Use the obligation-specific rules rather than a quarterly agent extension
Does a substituted accounting period match standard quarters?	No	Confirm the client’s deadline under the ATO’s eligibility rules
Will you lodge electronically?	No	Use the deadline without the quarterly electronic agent concession
Does the selected quarter provide a concession?	Yes	Confirm the generated statement’s lodgment and payment deadlines

Eligible quarterly concessions extend lodgment and payment. Still keep separate fields, because a lodgment deadline and a payment deadline are different obligations.

The client’s own two-week online concession is a separate rule. It excludes monthly statements and quarterly instalment notices, among other obligations. Do not add it to the agent concession.

Outstanding statements need attention before you assume the next statement has an extended deadline. The previous lodgment method affects generated dates, and an ATO decision can set a different deadline. Read the client’s record and any ATO notice together.

An annual GST return uses the annual GST rules. Where the client must lodge an income tax return, its deadline governs the annual GST return. Clients without that obligation use the separate official deadline. The income tax lodgment program covers the return lookup.

Dates for a Client You Have Just Taken on

Check a new client’s statement history before promising the agent deadline. Once your practice has authorised access, review the generated obligations and outstanding statements in Online services for agents.

Record each overdue period separately. Confirm the last lodged statement’s method and inspect any notices or deferrals. A new appointment does not make an already overdue statement timely.

Lodge outstanding statements promptly. If exceptional circumstances prevent lodgment, make a supported lodgment deferral request. Keep payment arrangements separate and confirm any changed deadline after the ATO records its decision.

Your onboarding form must capture the GST reporting cycle, PAYG withholding registration and PAYG instalment status. Include the reporting frequency for each obligation. Compare the client’s answers with the ATO record before setting the recurring jobs.

Tax Genie’s guided form collects the client’s details and checks for missing information, including GST registration without a reporting frequency. Use the confirmed answers to set the collection schedule, then enter the ATO-recorded lodgment and payment deadlines in your practice’s workflow.

Employer clients also need their own Payday Super checklist. A BAS concession does not establish the timing for their separate super obligations.

BAS Late Lodgement Consequences

Late BAS lodgement can attract a failure to lodge penalty. For a small entity, the ATO calculates one penalty unit per 28 days, or part thereof, overdue, up to five units. Larger entities face higher scales under the ATO’s penalty rules.

An unpaid amount can also attract general interest charge (GIC). It compounds daily, and its rate changes quarterly. Use the ATO’s late-payment guidance for the debt, including whether grounds exist for remission.

Late BAS work adds overdue obligations to your practice’s workload. The ATO monitors lodgment and deferral use. Its formal on-time performance benchmark measures income tax and FBT returns, so a late BAS does not directly reduce that percentage.

Request penalty remission when the delay has grounds such as circumstances beyond the client’s control, or applying the penalty would be unfair. Identify the affected statement and penalty. Explain the cause, its duration and the steps taken to lodge. Include supporting records and the lodgment receipt, or explain what still prevents lodgment.

GIC remission needs its own explanation of the payment delay and the steps taken to pay. Use the appropriate request in Online services for agents, retain the response and update the next job’s collection deadline to address the cause of the delay.